Ramon Ray and Ben Brewer met up at the B2SMB Institute in Napa, California to talk people and impact. Ben runs the small and mid-sized business segment for SAP Concur, a travel and expense management company based in Bellevue, Washington. Ben’s segment includes about 1,000 employees globally who service nearly 30,000 clients worldwide. They...
What challenges rank high among today’s small businesses? A major concern has been staying compliant with the maze of federal, state and local regulations. A recent survey conducted by ComplyRight spotlights the range of challenges and concerns for small businesses — and the results uncovered surprising, and consistent, vulnerabilities to legal actions and fines that...
More often than not, when a business function becomes a distraction from an organization’s core business, entrepreneurs and business managers often ask the question: “Should we outsource it?” This is a question that mostly applies to your non-core business functions such as data entry, email handling, document processing, IT services, accounting, payroll etc. However, making the...
I remember the first time I got bullied like it was yesterday. I was in the seventh grade, and at a new school. One day, while walking along a path between buildings to the cafeteria, I heard someone behind me shout, “Hey, look at the bubble-butt!” I turned and saw an older kid staring...
Issuing payroll means more today than writing a check. It means navigating a complex set of websites to file various taxes, issuing checks, and maintaining employee and company records. Depending on how many employees you have, it could take a few minutes or a few hours each week to complete your company’s payroll. It...
Building a power team for your business goes way beyond the necessity of hiring. This step involves vision and intent to create an internal support structure made up of people who really “get” your company, who are excited about what you’ve created and who can help take your dream to the next level of...
Engaged workers understand the purpose of their company and their role within the organization. They share their employer’s vision and work hard to achieve goals that support the company's bottom line. Employees who engage in the workplace pursue personal and professional development and aim to become more productive and valuable to their employer. Crucial to...
As a small business, hiring employees can be a blessing and a curse. On one side, you aren’t as hampered by policies and procedures as larger corporations are. On the other hand, there is so much interdependence in a small business that a lot could be riding on a new hire to take the...
As a customer, it’s easy to recognize a positive work environment when you see it. The workers have positive attitudes. They are smiling. They will go out of their way and do whatever it takes to make customers happy. It looks like a great place to work, and it feels like a great place to...
CNBC's hit show, The Profit, features businessman and investor Marcus Lemonis and his quest to help save suffering businesses. If Marcus likes a business and thinks he can help turn them around, he invests his own money in them... and then becomes 100% in charge. The third season just came to an end (and...
